Contributors

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

My Capstone Project

This year have been a great deal to me. There were many tragic events and even though nothing can ever make up for those events, this experience has been amazing. I cannot believe that it is going to end soon and we will be leaving Saturday. However, it has not ended yet so I will continue to look forward to the rest of my time here in Providence, Rhode Island.

. . . . .

All of the students are required to do a Capstone Project and I was debating about my project for some time. However, I concluded that I want my Capstone Project to be feasible but also help my community. Therefore, I thought about my younger sister and what she will have to go through when she enter middle school this Fall. I thought about all the peer pressure and violence that she will have to witness/endure and I want to do something about it; not just for my younger sister but for all the other youths entering middle school. I am aiming for middle schoolers because that is where the change starts. So my Capstone Project will be about change in our community and basically fundraising money to send these students to productive programs such as "College for Kids." You see, kids get involve in gang and violence for many different reasons be it because they have nothing else to do, or lack of support/motivation to do something better. Also, many of these kids come from low-income family so their parents do not have the money to send them to summer programs and other things that will be of positive use. What I am trying to do is raise enough money to send these kids there and just be someone they can go to for help. Violence is not the answer and they need to get it through their head that there are other alternatives. This was my main focus although I wish to contribute so much more but this is just a Capstone Project so I need to focus on ONE main idea for now. When I gain more leadership skills, I will continue to contribute more to building a better and stronger community.

Today in class, we had a speaker named Deborah Rivas. She came to speak to us about the difference between single-sex schools and co-ed schools. She also spoke about how males and females are treated differently inside the classrooms. For example, she mentioned that males tend to get away with things than females and females tend to feel uncomfortable speaking their mind in front of males. Afterwards, we had a debate where Deborah splitted up the class and one side had to be pro-single sex public schools and the other side against it. I was in the side against it and I have many reasons to be against it. Our argument was that in order to feel comfortable in a society where men and women are mixed, we have to be put in that position such as co-ed schools instead of later on trying to adapt to it because you were in a single sex school. They argued back that females seem to feel more comfortable in a class where all the students are female. It went on like that for a while and although I had many opinions, I did not speak up which I kind of regret.

Personally, I believe that co-ed schools are much better because us females are always talking about how we want equal rights and if we are seperated by gender, how are we to get those rights? That is something that a lot of people are not considering and for that reason I believe the best choice is to continue to keep public schools co-ed. Also, by segregating students based on gender will make them more aware of their gender. I believe that people should not view others based on their gender. It is more important to view a person for their personality and traits beyond their physical appearance. Well, that is my belief and even though not everyone will agree with me, I will continue to believe so. It is what I believe and I have my own voice although it may not want to be heard by others, I WILL make it want to be heard.

That is all for now since I have a 4 page research paper. I will continue to update you on what is happening and the ways in which I am evolving more. Thank you all!

1 comment:

Meuyyy--Over the past couple of weeks I've developed a great respect for you and your fellow Ladies at Brown but I'm beginning to worry after this posting. This "experience" you referred to isn't ending. As a matter of fact, it's just beginning for you. Consider this as just "Phase 1" of the software upgrade for you and your team.

It's plenty obvious to us all that you've learned a great deal in this class not only about history and about new ideas but about yourselves. You may not fully appreciate it yet but none of you is the same person you were on that dark Saturday morning when I saw you off to Providence. You're all changed and you're changed for the better.

When you return you'll be looking at everything through a new set of eyes and you'll be seeing things from a different perspective. The old life that you knew is gone and pt away and you're now beginning your new life. And that, Meuyyy, will be Phase II of this project.

I mean, take a look at your capstone project where the criteria you set required you to select a project that would be of benefit to your community.

Your project is a good and noble one, Meuyyy, and is worthy of your efforts. Whether you succeed or not isn't as important right now as the fact that you've taken the first step towards making a positive change. Every journey starts with that first step, Meuyyy.

I wish you had been able to voice your opinions in that debate you referred to. You have your own opinions and you made some valid points. [By the way--we're in agreement here.]

We could go on for page after page on this subject and we still might not change the minds of all of those with differing opinions. This is one of those subjects where judgments which should be based on facts can often be clouded by personal agendas.